Briton faces execution after UAE drugs bust

A UAE court has sentenced a 21-year-old Briton and a Syrian,19, to death after convicting the pair of selling 1,500 AED ($408) of marijuana to an undercover cop, newspaper The National reported on Tuesday.

The two were caught in a sting operation involving an undercover CID officer who bought 20g of the drug, having previously purchased 500 AED worth which was then tested to confirm it was the drug.

The mother of the unnamed Briton collapsed when she heard the verdict, the report added.

Two other defendants were convicted of taking the drug: A Sudanese man who was sentenced to one year in jail and deportation and a 17-year-old Emirati who sent for rehabilitation.

The UK’s Foreign Office has confirmed that a British subject faces execution in the UAE and that they were in touch with the defendant’s legal team.